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Toyguru Mattycollector.com MOTUC news thread April 2011

Like last year, instead of posting EVERY little thing in it's own post, I'll gather them ALL the relevant MOTUC Ask Matty postings here. Keep checking for updates! The old threads are ancient history and won't be updated anymore. This is the new spot until next month.

As always, I'll put the most recent news up first, while the old news is down the bottom.

What are the chances of getting a MOTUC Serpos?
I really love how the MYP cartoon added a backstory to Snake Mountain.
And the Snakemen deserve to have a beast in their ranks. So what would be better than a huge three headed Hydra?

Serpos of course couldn't be as enormous as he was in the MYP cartoon series. A Ghostbusters Marshmallow Man for example couldn't be in-scale either, so that shouldn't be a reason to not think about the possibility of having Serpos in MOTUC.

But regarding the size of the vintage "Serpos" (snake of Snake Mountain) in comparison to vintage figures, a MOTUC version actually wouldn't need to be THAT big to work. Sure bigger than Tytus, but it's pretty much the same with Grannamyr, so why not?

What do you think about SERPOS in MOTUC ?

He (it?) would certainly be awesome but nothing has been planned right now. Maybe one day!

One of my favorite things about "Serpos" is he is actually mentioned in the 1983 DC Comics mini series. Kinda cool huh?. (although I don't think the writers of the 200X series were actually referencing this, especially since they were going to call him Aspa, and changed the name last minute. Still, it is a cool "connection" that keeps him in both vintage and modern collecting huh?)

I know that actually 200X style is retired, it has been said several times.
What I would like to ask (and understand) is: why, even if fans are so greedy about second heads (200X style and not - like Zodac/k without helmet) and including seconds would make you sell a lot of figures more, you are not reconsidering your position?

We will still include a second head when there is a compelling reason (and a budget!) to do so. We actually have quite a lot of figures on tap for 2012 with second heads. But because the 200X style is retired, a 200X styled head is therefore not a "compelling" reasons for a second head.

In the event that you do release a single-carded Prince Adam, how would you feel about his vest being flocked like the original? Since he would use up a development slot anyway, I assume you guys would want to change him up somehow. I think he'd look great with the same material used on the King Grayskull re-release.

Thanks in advance for your reply!

The vintage Adam actually had a cloth soft goods vest. It was not flocking. It is always possible we could do a soft goods vest on a single release as an A-list quarterly variant. But othing is locked in or planned right now.

An "A-list" character is someone that most of the public might know and not just super fans. A character like He-Man, Batman or Peter Venkeman. (in relation to a lesser known C-List character like Snout Spout, Bronze Tiger, or Walter Peck). There are no exact lists, usually just varies by each fan's perspective of what there own A list or C list characters are!

Hey guru, just wondering since MOTU was a toyline first, has Mattel ever thought of having the FH sculpt a new character a male and female for the motu universe?

We have talked about adding new characters into the MOTUC line. It would likely take a special event or new media for us to do this. Whether or not we have the Horsemen "create" a new character remains to be seen! A cool idea though...

I want to thank you for the "New" characters direct from the 20XX cannon, as CARNIVUS or FACELESS ONE. Until now we have not seen any A-LIST CHARACTER in his/her 20XX Style. I understand you can not tell us about any figure pass Toyfare, but please try to give us one of those before the end of this year.

With the Galactic Protector, We will see all the factions; except the one that I am talking (I now it is not a faction, it is a interpretation). I would love to see a 20XX KING RANDOR or 20XX EVIL LYN or SNAKE TEELA or YOUNG PRINCE ADAM; in his/her 20XX "Classicised" interpretation.

Please, make the 20XX fans happiest than ever.

Thank you for answer.

We do have some 200X "variants" in the long term plan. When they will show up, we're not ready to spill the beans on quite yet! Stay tuned! We know fans want this which is why we built it into the long term roll out plan created around the time of Stratos' release. So far, we haven't strayed that much from the plan! Do these variants are coming in time...

In NYFT, you've announced that you are slowly building a "Brand New" female buck & it will be completed and it will be used by She-Ra 2.0 & the other 2 female figures to come this year !

So... What will be the status of current female buck then ? Will it be used at some point again OR will it be discontinued forever ?

Thanks !

The old buck could potentially be used, but only if the new one is not working for a particular figure. Likely though, I am guessing the new buck will be pretty universal or even newer parts. It isn't likely we will go backwards and use a buck that offers less articulation unless the figure really called for it.

Since She-Ra 2.0 announcement, we've been getting the figures details in bits & pieces. Some of your answers revealed that few accessories which came with She-Ra 1.0 will not be included with She-Ra 2.0 figure !

Most of the fans are terribly confused whether to wait for She-Ra 2.0, OR buy She-Ra 1.0 Reissue, OR buying both for making “Ultimate She-Ra” like you said. For making things on “clearer” route, Can you please give us an "Open Statement" about She-Ra 2.0 figure (like the figures accessories, leg articulation, knee & ankle joints condition ETC) ? I know revealing this on a BIG event like SDCC will be a cool thing to do. But with She-Ra 1.0 Reissue coming next month, the open statement will certainly help fans to decide whether to buy the She-Ra 1.0 reissue for the newer figure for making "Ultimate She-Ra" !

The "Open Statement" doesn’t have to be with images (I definitely know it’s not going to happen). All we need is just a detailed info on page !!!

I hope you’ll spill the beans for the sake of FANS this time !

We're not ready to spill the beans yet, but to help fans know what to do, the new She-Ra will be the first figure with the complete new female buck. It will feature a twist waist and other improvements. She will also have new arms and leg parts. It may only be the hands and hair that are shared between both figures, but I'd have to check with design to make sure of that. I don't have either figure in front of me right now.

2.0 will feature a few new accessories such as a toy accurate vintage sword and clip on "armor/headgear" pieces to allow a maskless look (without a hole in the head for the mask!). But to make the ultimate She-Ra you will need parts from the original release (such as the style guide head and red cape) so fans may want to pick up both versions to mix and match!

You have said many times that reissues are "turning the machine back on."
Can Prince Adam be reissued, but on his own single card for MOC collectors? I realize that the figure production would simply be "turning the machine back on," but does the actual figure packaging cause a "new SKU" issue?

A single Prince Adam would require a new package to be developed and therefore it would be a "new" development sku. The reissues are just that, direct reissues with no change to product or package (minus the new burst on the package).

So a single carded Prince Adam would need to wait for a development slot to open up and right now we are putting all of those into new figures. Likley one day down the road we'll do this, but not anytime soon.

Since we now know which monthly and quarterly figures will be released up until September of 2011, can you please tell us which reissues will be offered for the remaining months of June, July, August, and September? Thank you!

We don't have this locked in yet. Once we do we will announce it on our news section. We can tell you starting in the fall there will be fewer reissues. Only the A list characters tend to sell well on a reissue so we will be cutting back on the overall number of figures that get a reissue going forward.

The re-issue of She-Ra is coming May 16th. According to the solicitation, no changes have been made. I thingy it was mentioned somewhere (I forgot where) that there was going to be corrections, i.e. buck, for the figure itself to fit on the upcoming release of Swift Wind. What's the official word?

There will be an all new version of She-Ra coming in late fall. The reissue in May is a reissue of the previous version with no changes made. The reissue will be a slightly different version and will only include a classic toy mask.

If you want the "style guide" mask and cape you will want to pick up the reissue. (and as a side note, the new version is being designed so if you want to mix and match parts with the original release it can be done!)

First off I don't want specific release dates or anything like that. I'm just wondering if any assurances can be given regarding NA. At the current rate of one every 18 months or so, are we looking at only 5 or so being released? Are we being unrealistic in expecting more?

Some years there will be more. Others less. But they are all in the long term plan (as are all vintage figures).

In another answer you wrote that the Outfit from the BG Teela is Teelas Outfit as the heir to the sorceress. In fact she is the heir till she becomes the sorceress in the end. But in which time she has us this outfit and her original one? Is the BG Outfit only her trainigsoutfit that she wears in the elders trainings citadel?

in BG Teela's bio it isn't explicitly stated that the bikini is Teela's look as the new Sorceress.

So...Is it? Or is it Teela's look while training to be the Sorceress? Is it the costume Teela wears when the Sorceress gets poisoned by Hssss?
Or is the costume unrelated to the actual bio?
It would be great if you could clarify this point.

PS: And if this isn't Teela's Sorceress costume: How does she look as the Sorceress?

Just check out the character tag line on the front. This is Teela as the "heroic heir to the Sorceress" not the Sorceress herself.

I say keep the dials as is. If people want realism, they can dress up like Hurrican Hordak.

I've seen the back and forth. Personally, I totally dig them. And I know Eric does as well, and he sculpts the figs and came up with the idea! So for those who are out on them, for the time being, you'll just need to learn to customized cause I don't think they are going anywhere for now.

Even though I don't mind the dials(they're kinda fun but I totally understand why some people hate them as well), that answer is puzzling to me. I just find it odd that, out of all the details related to the vintage toys, this is what they found they couldn't live without. Not the action features, not the rooted hair on POP characters, not a Beast Man free of spikes on his back, not the number of legs Webstor & Buzz-Off have, not the flocking on Panthor, and not even the size of Zoar & Screeech. No, they needed to keep the odd shaped pieces of plastic on the toys that were only created in the first place in order to assist in the activation of the action features that are no longer there. This is why I'll never be one of those people who say "I trust The Four Horsemen 100%".

Even though I don't mind the dials(they're kinda fun but I totally understand why some people hate them as well), that answer is puzzling to me. I just find it odd that, out of all the details related to the vintage toys, this is what they found they couldn't live without. Not the action features, not the rooted hair on POP characters, not a Beast Man free of spikes on his back, not the number of legs Webstor & Buzz-Off have, not the flocking on Panthor, and not even the size of Zoar & Screeech. No, they needed to keep the odd shaped pieces of plastic on the toys that were only created in the first place in order to assist in the activation of the action features that are no longer there. This is why I'll never be one of those people who say "I trust The Four Horsemen 100%".

This was beautiful... Even if I'm more of a pro 200X fan I agree with you...

My trust on the Horsemen has been on a decline recently... Assuming that the Horsemen TRULY were the Masterminds behind the dials... TG's answer sounds more like "I wanted them in and they're staying..." Love the condescending attitude with the

you'll just need to learn to customized cause I don't think they are going anywhere for now.

He claims the line is on a very tight budget, can't fix defective figures because of it (See Hssss, Goddess, Roboto), Extra heads have been reduced (See Leech who was told from a long time that he'd have 2 heads got his extra head axed) Part reuse is the norm of the line and here coems a piece where reusing Hordak's Armor would've been cheaper and sensible: Boom! A brand new armor with a Red honking gear on a (soon to be) Vac Metallized back armor... A Sporran or a mullet are unneeded anime hyper-details, but a useless dial on Hordak's back is a necessity? Now we HAVE to butcher the figures (who are readily available everywhere in case the customer screws up... Oh wait! they aren't) or buy Version 2.0 to fix their mistakes... (like with She-Ra's Swift Wind issue...)

I expect to see Mantenna with 2 legs and a useless Lever on his back and a Ram Man who cannot be posed from the waist down!

This is not a Pro 200X Elements claim, but Toyguru &The4H need to understand that not EVERYTHING from the vintage toys is GOOD! Big honking levers/buttons or dials that kill the aesthetics of the figures are bad! (Same can be said to some elements from PoP, NA, or 200X)
I get the line is VINTAGE INSPIRED, but that does not equal Rehash the vintage toys... If we're not having action features due to logistics, not ruining the sculpt, etc. Why are we getting vestiges of the levers, buttons, dials from said action features? If we're getting that where is my manually spinning drum on my BA figures chest?

Last edited by DO4M; April 5, 2011 at 06:55pm.

FINALLY!! GLIMMER IS IN MY SHELF!! Now I need a Crita!! Crita is to Mara what Evil Lyn is to Teela. If we ARE getting Mara, then we NEED Crita.

I totally agree with the sentiment so far regarding the dials/levers. Keep them of off my figures. There is absolutely no reason to put them there. I dont feel any nestalgia over a sculpted dial on the back of Hordak that does absolutely nothing, except for screwing up the figures looks. Please stop putting useless crap like this on the figures. Please!

I'm a paying customer. I have two subs. I sometimes buy extra figures on sale days beyond my subs. Based on the response from Toyguru I felt I had to respond to the dial issue.

I absolutely hate the dial on Hurricane Hordak. It's an ugly eye sore. If the tooling budget is so small on this line, then why didn't they save money and reuse Hordak's armor from the regular release?

I didn't mind the dial on Optikk. It sort of works given the design of that character. I don't like it on Sy-Klone, but it isn't that noticeable so it doesn't bother me. Hurricane Hordak is a different story. It's just ugly.

What's next? Is Tongue Lashor getting the dial on his back too? I hope not. This is just something I think Toyguru and the 4H are very wrong on. However, Hurricane Hordak still looks neat...except for that dial.

Eh, the dials dont really bother me too much. Although on Optikk and Sy-Klone they arent as large and contrasting in color as the one is on Hurricane Hordak so I could see how this one is kinda unnecessary.

i thought everyone wanted the 4H to have total control of design? unless i'm missing something?

I'm not going to put 100% faith in anyone I've never met(and the same goes for a lot of the people I have met), so I've never had the blind trust that some people seem to have in the Four Horsemen. Unfortunately, lately they've been giving me even more reasons not to trust them implicitly.

I have a lot of faith in the Four Horsemen. They have been giving us some of the (if not THEE) best MOTU product we've ever seen for the past how many years? Over a decade now? They are some of the best in the business at what they do. I'm Blinded by Nostalgia™ and the awesomeness that the Four Horsemen sculpt my nostalgia into.

We don't know how much of these decisions are the 4H choices or Mattel mandates. As 200X He-Man shows, Mattel tells the 4H what to sculpt to some degree. They can't do anime hair or give 200X He-Man a sporran thanks to Mattel influence.

We don't know how much of these decisions are the 4H choices or Mattel mandates. As 200X He-Man shows, Mattel tells the 4H what to sculpt to some degree. They can't do anime hair or give 200X He-Man a sporran thanks to Mattel influence.

Emiliano said, that the 4HM have the control over the design for MOTUC.

We don't know how much of these decisions are the 4H choices or Mattel mandates. As 200X He-Man shows, Mattel tells the 4H what to sculpt to some degree. They can't do anime hair or give 200X He-Man a sporran thanks to Mattel influence.

According to Emiliano, what we're getting in MOTUC is almost always 100% what the 4H wanted(other than the occasional color change).